Letter: Prop 2½ override essential for Rehoboth

The residents of the town of Rehoboth will be asked to decide whether to accept the proposed Proposition 2½ override being put forth on a ballot question July 15, or to oppose it.

The residents of the town of Rehoboth will be asked to decide whether to accept the proposed Proposition 2½ override being put forth on a ballot question July 15, or to oppose it. The purpose of this correspondence is to look at the ramifications other towns have faced when their overrides failed. The following examples were cited from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Hidden Consequences: Lessons from Massachusetts for States considering Property Tax Cap,” May 25, 2010.

— After an override failed in Chelmsford in April 2008 the town was expected to close an elementary school and fire station and lay off four firefighters, two police officers, and 14 teachers.

— Bridgewater severely cut its library budget after an override failed in the fall of 2007, reducing its hours of operation from 52 to 15 hours per week.

— After a series of overrides failed in Tyngsborough in fiscal years 2006 and 2007, town employees received a 10 percent pay cut and a 10 percent reduction in their working hours. The town also eliminated two police officer positions, cut the highway department budget, and depleted its reserve funds.

— After an override failed in 2007, Newburyport eliminated middle school foreign language programs and roughly a dozen teaching positions.

— Saugus closed its library after an override failed in 2007.

— After an override failed in 2007, Ashland’s school board approved a plan to fill teaching vacancies with inexperienced teachers in order to save money.

— When an override failed in Lexington in 2006, the town eliminated 31 teaching positions and the elementary school Spanish program and instituted fees for the elementary school instrumental music program.

— A failed 2007 override in Northbridge forced the town to lay off six of its nine library employees and scale back the library’s hours of operation to 12 hours a week.

— When an override failed in Hampden in 2005, the town closed its library, senior center, and recreation department — and even shut off all of its street lights.

— Gloucester shut down operations at two full-time fire stations almost entirely following a failed override in 2004. Two years later, a woman who lived just one mile from one of the understaffed stations died in a fire; it took firefighters 11 minutes to reach her because the nearby station was closed at the time of the fire.

— After a marked decline in state aid and a series of failed overrides, Randolph eliminated two elementary schools, nearly all busing, over 60 classroom teachers, and almost all freshman and junior varsity sports. During this period the academic performance of the district’s students declined markedly. Only when the state threatened to take control of the district did local voters approve an override.

Our local government faces an extremely difficult budgetary challenge. Without the passing of a Proposition 2½ override to deal with our current circumstances, our local government will have little recourse aside from cutting needed services.

Don’t let this happen to our town. Rehoboth cannot afford to lose our valued local services. It is essential to approve this proposed measure and show support for all of Rehoboth’s valued departments.